(This posting is an adaptation of the author’s thesis submitted to the faculty of the Nairobi International School of Theology towards the fulfillment of a degree in Master’s in Divinity)

Presentation and Biblical Critique of the N.C.C.’s Teaching on Holy Spirit Baptism.

Presentation of the teaching

For the N.C.C., the purpose of the Holy Spirit baptism was primarily to “usher in the kingdom of God”. And so we have Holy Spirit baptism in Acts 2 to usher the Jews into the Kingdom of God and another Holy Spirit baptism in Acts 10 to usher the Gentiles into the Kingdom of God after which the baptism of the Holy Spirit ceased, the reason being that after Acts 10, both the Jews and Gentiles had now been ushered in. Therefore, these days we do not need the baptism of the Spirit because its function is done away with. Moreover Eph. 4:5 talks of one baptism which is neither John’s baptism nor the Holy Spirit baptism but water baptism.

Biblical Critique of this Teaching

If the N.C.C. is going to insist on “locking” Spirit Baptism behind the room occupied by the 120 disciples in Acts 2 and Cornelius’ house in Acts 10, then the most arduous task that they have is to explain away the one and only New Testament passage that is purely doctrinal in nature and has direct reference to Spirit baptism. This is I Corinthians 12:13 which reads, “for we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free and we were all given the one spirit to drink”. The immediate context of this verse is the subject of the various spiritual gifts–diverse, yes–but issuing from the same source. Already Paul had hinted this subject in his introductory remarks at the beginning of the book (cf I Cor. 1:7). But now he elaborates more on this subject with the hope of patching up the division that had characterized the Corinthian church. Beginning in verse 4 of chapter 12, he affirms that there are different kinds of gifts, but the unity is in the source. To drive this point home, Paul then offers a simple illustration in v. 12: “the body is a unit though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body….” One of the possible interpretations of the last phrase in v. 12, “so it is with Christ”, would be that as the person is one while the members of his body are many, so also Christ is one but the members of the mystical body, the church, are many (Edwards, A Commentary on the First Epistles to the Corinthians, p. 321). This is not without the support of another commentator: ” The definite article (the) is found in the original…when the apostle uses the term ‘the Christ’, it is just the same as if he said, ‘The Church’, for as the context shows, he is thinking of the entire church as linked with the Lord Jesus Christ, its head in heaven. As the human body is one, so also is the Christ” (Ironside, Addresses on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 388)

In verse 13a, we come across some very crucial observation (a) The word “body” here should be understood to refer to the universal church. An approximate phraseology is used in v. 27 which says “now you are a body of Christ”, where it has a localized meaning (Grosheide, Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT, p. 297). But as used in verse 13a, the word “body” definitely has a reference to the universal Church. (b) There is a universalistic overtone observable from the grammatical structuring of this verse. From the original language, this verse should be translated “for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body…” The overlaid emphasis here has significance. There is an “all-inclusiveness stressed here so emphatically” (Unger, F. Merrille, The Baptism and Gift of the Holy Spirit p. 100). (c) Moreover the mentioning of the Greeks and Jews, the slaves and the free support the universality of this verse according to the International Critical Commentary, … the racial difference between Jew and Greek was a fundamental distinction made by nature; social difference between slave and freeman was a fundamental distinction made by custom and law; and yet both differences were to be done away when those who were thus separated become members of Christ. (Robertson & Plummer, I Corinthians ICC, p. 272) (d) The first aorist passive indicative of the Greek word for baptism here refer to a definite past event. The agent of this baptism is the Holy Spirit. That is why it is referred to as Spirit baptism. According to Criswell, one of the possible translation of the proposition ” ” in the phrase ” ” would be “by” thus connoting agency. Quoting him, he argues that: The Greek preposition translated…”by” is the Greek word “en”. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon of the New Testament lists 44 different uses of this preposition “en”…. The word “en” can be translated “by” as it is in Mt. 17:27, 28:21:23, 24; 23:16-22; Acts 4:17; Romans 5:9, 10;12:21; Rev. 13:10…(Thus) the baptism is done by the Holy Spirit. (Criswell, The Baptism of Filling and Gifts of the Holy Spirit pp 21-22) (e) This Holy Spirit baptism is (into one body) and this may mean either “so as to be united to one body” or “so as to form one body”. (Edwards, A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 325).

In conclusion then baptism by the Holy Spirit ushers one into the body of Christ and is not to be limited to the Acts 2 and Acts 10 passages but rather is a continuing experience even today. The universalistic tone of the I Cor. 12:13 passage suggests that Spirit baptism was experienced by believers even after the Acts 2 and Acts 10 events. Paul was not present in these two events, yet he includes himself among those who were baptized by the Spirit. As MacArthur confirms, it is not possible to be a Christian and not be baptized by the Holy Spirit (MacArthur, First Corinthians, p. 312). Similarly, the same idea is echoed by Harlow: In a man, it is his human spirit which makes all the different parts to be one person. Without a spirit the man would die, James 2:26. In the church the Holy Spirit dwells in each member and makes us all into one body. On the Day of Pentecost, this Spirit came down on 120 believers and formed them into one body with one Spirit, Himself. Since then He has added many more to the body (Harlow, The Imperfect Church, p. 83).

Conclusion

It is true that Pentecost and the Cornelius story in Acts 2 and 10, respectively were two incidences that saw the Jews and the Gentiles ushered into the kingdom of God. However, it is not true that Spirit baptism terminated with these two events. As evidenced by I Cor. 12:13, every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit at the point of conversion which is really the instant the believer is engrafted into the body.